The bizarre reason a main road was closed for several hours has been revealed.

A busy Yeovil road was cordoned off during Sunday (June 3) evening as fire crews tackled an underground fire.

A section of Bunford Lane was sealed off after a fire began in a gravel pit.

Road improvements to Yeovil's Western Corridor route are under way in the area.

The road was closed by police for several hours as fire fighters and electricity engineers attended the incident.

This is the second time a fire has broken out at the Western Corridor roadworks, after a diesel generator went up in flames during a blaze in February.

A spokesman for the contractor Alun Griffiths described that fire as "unusual".

Bluebell roundabout, Bunford Lane, Yeovil

What happened?

A Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service spokesman said the service was called at around 8pm on Sunday, and three fire crews were sent to the incident.

They said: "Once on scene it was established that this was an underground fire in a gravel hole on the road, fire crews on the scene indicated that this was possibly caused by an underground cable overheating.

"We were in attendance at the scene between 8.09pm and 11.40pm, and during this time the road was closed by police.

"We also called for Scottish and Southern Electricity."

Bluebell roundabout, Bunford Lane, Yeovil

Police officers closed the road between Bluebell roundabout and Bunford roundabout as the incident was dealt with.

The Western Corridor work is being carried out by Alun Griffiths on behalf of Somerset County Council (SCC).

In a very short statement, a spokesman for SCC said: “We are aware of an incident over the weekend linked to a cable fault. This was attended and dealt with by the utility firm.”

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